Rice is one of the world's most fundamental food crops. Historically, rice was considered to require relatively large amounts of water, in comparison with other types of grains, as part of its traditional production process. With water shortages becoming ever more frequent in many rice-producing regions around the world, efforts have been made to explore other growing techniques in order to reduce the overall water requirements, improve production, and increase overall economic return.
Traditional methods of growing rice include the use of vast quantities of water (e.g., 900 to 2290 mm (35 to 90 inches) of water per growing season) to flood irrigate rice fields or paddies. The rice fields are typically divided into individual units which are bermed and contoured to control water movement across the field. Once flooded, the rice fields normally remain flooded throughout the remainder of the growing season. While some of the water is consumed by the crop, the vast majority of it is used as a form of weed control. The rice plants will survive under saturated conditions, while many weed species will not. Typical rice growing production steps include heavy tillage, leveling, surface smoothing, channel preparation, berm construction, planting, flood irrigating, draining and harvesting. While traditional methods of growing rice have a long proven history, the soil and land management components can be costly and the volume of water needed for their successful implementation may be limiting in many areas. Additionally, because of their flood irrigation aspects, these traditional methods are limited to areas having flat terrain, particularly flat terrain adjacent rivers and streams.
While rice producers have attempted to grow rice utilizing sprinkler irrigation systems in the past, very little has been known with regard to growing rice in this way, including when and how much water to apply. Additionally, little has been known with regard to the selection of the type of rice seed, the application of fertilizer, the application of pesticides and the sprinkler irrigation system used to apply the water, fertilizer and pesticides.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method of growing rice utilizing a sprinkler irrigation system wherein the irrigation applications are applied in amounts and at times to optimize the efficiency of the water applied. A need also exists for a method of growing rice utilizing a sprinkler irrigation system wherein fertilizer and pesticide are applied in amounts and at times optimal for curtailing unwanted weeds and other constraints to rice production. A further need exists for a method of growing rice utilizing a sprinkler irrigation system wherein the sprinkler irrigation system is configured for applying irrigation, fertigation and chemigation to rice.